D E L A S ALLE C OLLEGIATE H IGH S CHOOL

THE CO-PILOT VOLUME 84, ISSUE #2

T UESDAY , D ECEMBER 14, 2010

Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! E XAM S CHEDULE T HIS WEEK

Inside this Edition

Wednesday: 8:00 AM English 9:50 AM Science

Adopt-A-Family see Page 3

The Union see Page 7

Exams See Page 8

I’m on a Boat! The Unique Nautical Story of Prom 2011

Thursday: 8:00 AM Math 9:50 AM Social Studies

By: Mio Sison C O -P ILOT S TAFF W RITER

There is one question running through the mind of every De La Salle Collegiate junior and senior. What is the Student Council doing about prom? The student body has heard many things about the dance and wants to know the truth. In the past, the school has had a combination of a junior and senior prom. This is a total of around 400 students, without dates. Many rumors have been circulating around school concerning the dance. Shane McKenna, a senior, said, “I know for a fact it’s on a

Friday:

boat and that the whole senior class will be able to fit on it. The only downside about being on a boat is that you can’t leave early to party.” According to this rumor, only the senior class will be going to prom. Aaron Panicker, the Student Council President, described some of the issues still on the table. There are two boats which hold either 150 or 250 people. The student council is still unsure of whether to use both or not, because all seniors with their dates would be more than the

capacity allows. When explaining if one could leave early to go to parties, he said, “No, where would you go, you’re in the of middle Lake St. Clair! You’re gonna swim home?” He explained the issue of whether juniors would be included in the dance. “No, they can wait ‘til next year, and there will be no separate dance for them.” Aaron also shared his thoughts about how much tickets are going to cost for couples. “With the current initiatives in place, including dress down days, we are trying

8:00 AM Religion 9:50 AM Foreign Language 11:35 AM Christmas Break Begins

Good Luck on the exams!

School resumes Tuesday, January 4, 2011 on Day I

Continued on page 3

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Teaching the Chinese Language at De La Salle By Miles Mianecki CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

A DOPT -AF AMILY H AS H ELPED

36 F AMILES TO HAVE A M ERRY C HRISTMAS THIS YEAR !

In the past De La Salle has offered two primary foreign languages, French and Spanish. With a changing world and the influx of foreign exchange students from East Asia, introducing a Mandarin Chinese course as another possibility for students looking into learning a foreign language only seems logical. The new Chinese teacher, Ms. Miaomiao Cui, has a quite peculiar schedule for a teacher. She travels from school to school teaching her course to a variety of different students, both public and private. This is not the norm for any teaching oc-

cupation and requires being on task and organized. In addition to teaching at De La Salle, Ms. Cui helps students at Regina learn the Chinese language. When asked what her favorite part about teaching at De La Salle was, Ms. Cui said, “There are so many things, it is hard to describe one thing that I love about De La Salle.” Although from a very far away country with different cultural values and traditions, Ms. Cui enjoys many of the things that most students love. She gladly responded, “Sleeping!” when she was asked for her fa-

vorite activity. I am sure that many in the student body would agree with her. She also enjoys cooking, reading and swimming. Ms. Cui’s favorite movie is Braveheart. When asked why, she grinningly replied, “I love Mel Gibson.” Ms. Miaomiao Cui was not shy to talk about her hobbies and activities. I highly encourage any student to ask her about her unique culture or her favorite scene from Braveheart. Be sure to welcome her in the halls before she has to run out again to teach at another school.

W HERE D ID T HE D RESS -D OWN D AY M ONEY G O ? By Antonio Munaco

CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

The decline of attendance for school dances caused a decrease in revenue for the student council. Paid dress-down days are a new program for the 20102011 student council. The last dress-down day was a huge success. “We earned $1050 last dress-down day,” said Mrs. Michol. That is a sizable profit. These dressdown days cost four dollars. Some students are suspicious and wonder

where this money goes. When asked how the money is distributed during a student council meeting, Mrs. Michol said, “Half of the money goes towards prom and half goes to charity.” Without the help of these dress-down days, prom would be very expensive. It is on a boat, and the student council is trying to keep the costs down. This is where you come in. Keep helping out

by participating in these dress-down days. Brother Michael has many charities that approach him and ask for his help. When given money from the dress-down days, he selects a charity of his choosing and makes a generous donation. This is supporting a De La Salle value of caring for the less fortunate. When you participate in dress-down days, you directly help out those in need.

Please participate in the upcoming dressdown days. The money goes to worthy causes and not to the drug testing of students. These dressdown days will happen once a month. Keep your eyes open and please contribute to both worthy causes.

VOLUME 84, ISSUE #2 Continued from page 1

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T HE S EASON O F G IVING : T HE A DOPT -A-F AMILY P ROGRAM

By Vinny Galbo to lower the cost of tickets, CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER and at this point, we are The Christmas sea- meeting group has the relies. The month of Decemprojecting $125 dollars per son is very important to sponsibility of purchasing ber is when the Lasallian couple.” Finally, Panicker many, if not all, Christians. gifts or gift cards and deliv- community comes together ering them to the family in and gives something back. added that no exact date It is the season of giving, for the dance is set but, “It generosity, and spirituality. person. This is an experiEveryone knows ence that no human can will be within the ten days The best feeling in the that during this recession before graduation.” This is world is giving to someone imagine until experiencing money is very tight, espegood news for all seniors at less than fortunate and see- this act of kindness. cially in the state of MichiDe La Salle Collegiate, but ing his or her smile light up These families gan. Therefore even a dolmay cause a few issues for like the Christmas tree in barely have enough money lar could make someone’s your house. De La Salle the juniors. to make ends meet and to day. Aaron Panicker takes steps for the student purchase clothes, so to buy Jesus preached that said, “It is true that we are body to experience this gifts for their family is out people should help others unsure of the dance, but great wonder. of the question. This is in great need. Christmas In late November the Student Council promwhere DLS steps in and just isn’t a holiday or a ises to have it all figured and early December, all the comes together as a comtime where gifts are exmorning meeting classes out soon.” munity inspired by Jesus. changed. Unselfishness is work together to become According to the theme for DLS in these Brother Mike also Mrs. Michol, plans for the the source of Christmas for manages a food drive durhard times and we are not prom will be shared shortly a needy family. ing this time for these famiafraid to show it. after Christmas break. It Each morning will still be a senior-junior prom following the same format used in past years. I T ’ S A B OWL S EASON : A L OOK AT THE N EWYEAR ’ S D AY G RIDIRON Seniors will be allowed to By Brennan Kelly CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER purchase tickets the day Not only does the New for. This year there are two 2,589 yards and rushed for before juniors.

Year bring fun family holidays, but it also brings together universities in hopes of winning a BCS National Championship. The college football regular season is over. Now it is time to show who the best team truly is. With five BCS bowl games, the New Year will bring much excitement to the college football world.

The Mecca of all college football games is scheduled on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The BCS National Championship Game is what all teams work every day

teams that deserve this honor. The Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks are the only two teams from very strong conferences to have an undefeated record in the 2010 regular season. Oregon is led by All-American, Heisman runner-up running back LaMichael James. James has led the team and NCAA with 1,682 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. On the other side, Auburn All-American and Heisman Winner quarterback Cam Newton has led the Tigers to an undefeated season. Newton threw for

1,409 yards.

Both Auburn and Oregon are very strong offensively and look to score every time they possess the ball. Auburn has outscored its opponents this year 552 to 318. Auburn has played in an arguably tougher conference than the Oregon Ducks. Although Oregon plays in a very tough conference; they have played much weaker opponents in the 2010 season. Oregon has outscored its opponents 592 to 221. Continued on page 4

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BCS from Page 3 Although both of these teams are very strong offensively, the defense has room for improvement. Even though they have outscored their opponents by a large mar-

gin, this game should be a very high scoring game with many moments of excitement. On January 10th only one team will walk out victorious with a BCS National Championship.

Experience it Now, Relive it Later!

Get your 2011 Yearbook On Sale NOW!

Only $65.00 BUT Starting January 4th, the 2011 Price will increase to $75.00 To Purchase: Go to: www.dlsyearbook.com or See Mr. Richard Kopas-Yearbook Adviser-Room 216

TCU: A RE By Nik Dal Pra

THEY

R EALLY T HIRD B EST ?

E DITORIAL

Even if TCU runs the table they still don’t deserve a spot in the national title game, Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said. People do not know whether to agree with this statement or disagree. TCU (Texas Christian University) finished the 2010 college football season 12-0 and ranked #3 in the BCS standings. People question if the Horned Frogs really belong there. Both the #1 and #2 teams still had a remaining game and the main question asked was if one of those teams lost, would TCU go to the National Championship? The main argument that Gee brought up is TCU plays weak teams in conference and even in non-conference play. Gee says that major universities like Ohio State, Stanford, and

Wisconsin have to battle for their lives every week in conference play. TCU’s marquee wins this season were against weak Oregon State and Baylor teams. Their biggest win came against Utah who also turned out to be a bust at the end of the season. However, some people see it the same way for Ohio State. Ohio State started the season playing cupcake teams like Ohio and Eastern Michigan while they only played two top 25 teams (Iowa and Wisconsin) in which they went 1-1. The Horned Frogs have opted to join the Big East conference in all sports next year to get rid of the controversy surrounding them the past few

Continued on page 5

VOLUME 84, ISSUE #2

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B LACK F RIDAY M ADNESS By Vaughn Avecilla

C O -P ILOT S TAFF W RITER

Black Friday is one of the biggest sale days of the year and might possibly be the biggest. Everyone wants to get his or her hands on the newest items for the lowest price possible. People will pretty much do anything for the hottest items sold the Friday after Thanksgiving. This year Black Friday was at its peak with millions of sales in just a short period of time. The items started going on sale as soon as midnight for

some of the stores. People lined up in tents with heaters just to be the first ones in the store. Luigi Marinelli said, “It was insanely packed! I was waiting in line at Lakeside for at least an hour just to get into the stores, but it was worth it because the deals were fantastic.” Best Buy was selling laptops and flat screen televisions for over 300 dollars off. They were giving out coupons at

Lakeside Mall for laptops and televisions, but there were only 50 coupons available so you had to get your hands on them relatively quickly. Wal-Mart said that they would match all deals on every item in the store for Black Friday, which drew a large crowd to the chain of Wal-Mart stores. People were literally stampeding over each other to get what they wanted, which was extremely dangerous.

T IME T O C LIMB By Michael Swantek

C O -P ILOT S TAFF W RITER

It’s official, the winter season has hit Michigan and there are many guys at De La Salle who love to ski or snowboard. So where to go? The guys could go to Mt. Holly for a simple day trip if they like small hills, but there are many other large mountains if they’re looking for an invigorating trip. Now that the winter season is here the ideas of winter vacations with friends and small day trips become prevalent. Well the question becomes where to go? The first, probably the most popular, place for De La Salle students is Mt.

Holly. Mt. Holly is a small ski hill, with decent sized slopes and two pretty good terrain parks. The hill is relatively close and a great place to go if you’re looking for a small day trip to go snowboarding or skiing with your friends. An almost polar opposite of Mt. Holly is Caberfae Peaks ski resort, located in Cadillac, MI. This resort is great for a two or three day trip. Caberfae is about three hours away and dwarfs Holly. Caberfae has two separate hills that are connected by a small trail. The closest hill to the resort has

an assortment of hills that range in difficulty from the bunny hill to blue hills, good for all skill levels. If you’re a thrill seeking skier or boarder, however, you can make your way over to the next hill. This hill is the most difficult one. These hills can test some of the skiers or boarders who consider themselves advanced. For a thrill seeker Caberfae is the place to be. The final good skiing resort is Shanty Creek Resorts. Shanty Creek has three different ski mountains at its resort. This place is large and has many

When it was all said and done, Black Friday 2010 was a successful one with the sales going off of the charts. Thousands of people were satisfied with what they got for themselves or their family. Now they just have to secretly wrap it up and tell the little ones it was from Santa!

great trails that are perfect for a family. The hills range from the easiest level, green, to black diamonds. It’s a large fun place for everyone. Therefore, instead of sitting home and complaining about the cold, grab a board or skis and hit the slopes. TCU from page 4 years. The Big East is an automatic qualifying conference so no one will be able to argue with any National Championship aspirations TCU has. TCU looks to play in the Rose Bowl against a Big Ten opponent in Wisconsin, while Gee’s Ohio State Buckeyes will play Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. However both these games turn out, the season looks to have an exciting finish.

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S NOW W AR : A

LITTLE WINTER FUN FOR THE COMPETITIVE

By Miles Mianecki

DLS S TUDENT

CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

Snowballs are flying everywhere – the chase is on. A short, but very good-looking, fellow dressed in a large purple down coat, thick gloves, a long cape-like scarf and a De La Salle Soccer hat viciously dives head first into a snow pile. He disappears. Two boys dressed amply in black and orange run by the snow pile, but have they lost their sneaky target? Jump! The short boy reappears. He rises into the air with a snowball in each hand and launches them at the two boys. They fall into the snow. Victory. Snowball fights are

fun, but any student at De La Salle should not participate in throwing any form of snow on school property. School is not the time to seek revenge on that snow soldier who got a clean hit on you over the weekend. When throwing snowballs, try to avoid aiming for the face or using ice; these actions can cause serious injury. As long as you participate safely, snowball wars can be one of the most exciting events over your winter break. Snowball fights are always a hot activity for the De La Salle student body to

C HRISTMAS

MUSIC : T OO E ARLY EVERY YEAR ? By John Leutzinger CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

Do radio stations play Christmas music too early in the season? Music was an early feature of the Christmas season and its celebrations. There are many complaints that it is played way too early and gets old. But many people have different opinions. Junior Michael Moscone said, "I like Christmas music played early, because it puts me in the mood." Many may agree with Michael, but other people feel the

same way Lucciano Khalil does. Khalil said, "Christmas music is played way too early, because it should be played once December starts, nothing before." Christmas music was generally played after the Thanksgiving holidays, giving the stores and people an idea of when to put their Christmas decorations up. Recently the music has been played earlier because it gives radio stations increased revenue since it gains more listeners.

participate in over Christmas break. De La Salle student Mack Biggert said, “I usually always save some packing snow in the fridge so when the snow is gone, I always get the ‘last’ hit.” Snowball fights can be anything from throwing a few little snowballs at your girlfriend or an all-out war. When the snowball fight starts to creep in the category of a war, certain safety measures must be taken. Snowball wars require the use of strategy and well developed military tactics. Veteran snowball warrior, the “Marine,” or David Boni said, “I like Christmas music also puts shoppers in the mood for buying gifts; today's economy is declining, making a shopper wait longer to buy gifts, making sense for music to begin earlier. Radio stations all over the United States play Christmas music around the clock. They have came to a conclusion where the first station listeners hear Christmas music they will stick to that

to operate in several squads – to maximize combat effectiveness. I usually arm them with walkie-talkies, some Tylenol and a canteen of hot chocolate just to always stay on top of the battle.” David Boni might be criticized for his undying intensity, but let me ask you this – when David Boni is going home with nice toasty warm boots and no snow on his face, who then is the one to say that this snow soldier’s intensity didn’t pay off? So go out there, call up some friends, build some forts and participate in a snowball fight! station. This makes stations become more popular, receive higher ratings, which means they can charge more for advertising and make more money.

VOLUME 84, ISSUE #2

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D E L A S ALLE D ANCE By Nathan Puchalski

CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

De La Salle student body dances were once a legacy of their own. Some seniors seem to recall a 10:1 girl to guy ratio, great music and three hours of fun. Now, due to lack of girls and motivation, the DLS dances have fallen far from their former glory. When I asked Michael Wnuk, class of ’99, about the dances he said, “We knew how to party back in the day, we had at least ten girls to every guy and a packed gym and cafeteria at every

dance.” Compare this recollection to what we saw only a few weeks ago and the past two years. What is the Student Council doing to try to make these dances better? Student Council President Aaron Panicker said, “We understand that juniors and seniors are not typically interested in the dances, but we are trying to target the younger students so they have the opportunity to go out and meet new people and have a good time.” Aaron also said, “We are also creating

Facebook groups to help promote and broadcast the dances so any one who wants to go can. Also fliers are being handed out at other schools to attract more girls to the dances.” It is clear Student Council is trying their best to improve the dances and to try to create some motivation for not only girls but also our own students to show up. Can more be done? Secretary of Student Council and DLS dance visionary Ryan McMurray said, “I believe

the new idea of raffles is one new way we are trying to encourage more people to show up. We are trying to give students and girl visitors more incentives to show up, not only to have fun but also have a chance to win some cash prizes.” Few would challenge that the De La Salle dances have changed drastically over the years. Be assured that the DLS Student Council is doing everything they can to grow dance attendance.

proof glass?” The answer is an obvious “yes.” Senior Daniel Popiel and other Union members have the right to protection from possible gunpoint holdups. In addition, it give the feel of being offsite at a financial institution. The Union is also offering some great incentives to join. Stop in to

check them out So you forgot your lunch money? No problem, just skip on over to the De La Salle branch of Christian Financial Credit Union and deduct money from your established account. You’ll be on your way to enjoying and munching on those delectable golden fries.

T HE U NION

By Joe Manuszak CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

De La Salle Collegiate has been adding programs to student life over the past few years. Some have been small, but others large. These changes have ranged from student ID badges being worn at all times in the halls, to a Credit Union (Christian Financial) being built this past year. The Credit Union was built in the once famous room of Mr. Karas located in the school cafeteria. Many students were shocked at this new addition, and often asked the same question, “What’s the use?”

Senior Eric Panfalone had an answer to this question. “It was a grand idea building the Credit Union Bank because it gives the students of De La Salle a general idea of bank accounts and how to manage their money wisely.” The Credit Union was established to help De La Salle students make correct financial decisions, to give advice about starting accounts, and to give students the choice of starting an account and investing money into it. Also, another question often asked, “Do they really need bullet

VOLUME 84, ISSUE #2

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I S I T E XAM T IME A LREADY ? By Liam Switalski

CO-PILOT EDITOR AND CHIEF

It’s December, there are Christmas decorations everywhere, and all anyone wants to do is go on Christmas break. But there is one last thing students have to do before they can enjoy their two week escape from school: midterms.

a semester grade. “I think I’m going to study the night before for all my exams, except for my AP course, which I have been studying for,” says junior Nicholas Lemanski. For most students exams can provide a lot of stress and if they are not managed well, can have a terrible effect on your grade. Having said that, here are some tips to help prepare for your semester exams:

aside to prepare for all Get help from of your classes, espe- your teacher. Studying cially the tougher ones. the wrong information or Find ways to incorrect notes is somerelieve stress. This thing you should try to may be exercising, avoid. Make sure everysleeping, or going to the thing is clear to you and movies. Anything you you understand what you can do to temporarily need to know. Then the take your mind off your only tricky part is rememstudies will make you bering it all.

feel much better and be Finally, keep able to concentrate things in perspective. much more. Not getting an “A+” on an “I’m going to Free up your exam will not be the end study at half hour increschedule. This is not of the world. Exams very ments for each class for the best time to do your rarely make or break your five days,” says junior Christmas shopping. grade. If you’ve been doAlex Lessnau. These halfTry to take time off ing what you’re supposed way assessments are the work and don’t take on to do during the semester, source of much anxiety Manage your many time commit- the exam should not be and last minute cramming time. This should be done ments. You’ll need as the catastrophe many stuby students everywhere, weeks in advance. Set time much time as possible to dents expect it to be. being worth up to 30% of study. T HE G LOW I S

FADING

By Anthony Zuccaro CO-PILOT STAFF WRITER

“It’s that time of year again,” said senior Sean Mathews. The Christmas season is upon us and it is in full swing. Christmas music has filled the air and the memories of last years traditions linger in our minds. One of the main traditional aspects of Christmas is the lights on houses. “I love driving down the street looking at all of the lights, especially when it’s snowing,” said Bryan Mitzner. The lights

are a huge part of Christmas. It gets everyone who sees them into the holiday mood. There is only one problem. Are fewer and fewer people putting up Christmas lights? “Due to the economy people are substituting out Christmas lights so they have more spending money during the holidays. Even in my neighborhood I have noticed that not as many people are decorating their houses with lights,” said

Editor and Chief: Liam Switalski

Sean Mathews. The economy is a part of the problem, but also there could be another problem. People are just too busy. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season gets people very stressed out. They might just not have time or they don’t make time for the Christmas lights. People are forgetting the true meaning of Christmas. It isn’t about the present or the gifts, although those things are

Layout Editor: James Sharp

nice; it is all about family, giving, tradition and the birth of our Savior. The thought is what really counts. Hopefully this Christmas season people can try not to focus on how great a present is but can focus on the thought the person put into it. Everyone should make time for family and friends. After all, without them, what do we really If you find any errors or have questions please email us at [email protected] Advisor: Mr. Kopas